Last week, New Hampshire lawmakers referred a bill legalizing the recreational use of marijuana to further study.

Many of those in Concord and resident around the Granite State had hoped the state would join Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts in legalizing the drug.

The House gave preliminary approval to the bill earlier this year, allowing adults to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and cultivate it in limited qualities.

Officials, though, are right to take this process slowly. We, as a state, already have enough problems when it comes drugs. Even though marijuana isn’t on the same level as opioids and other narcotics, it is – considered by many – to be a gateway drug to harder, more addictive substances.

Although the state’s reasoning for holding off is economically driven, its good to see that officials are taking a more thorough approach and not taking this issue lightly.

Let us hope, in the end, marijuana isn’t legalized simply as another economic vehicle. The downside must be given appropriate consideration so that we don’t end up doing more harm that good.